Baste veggie burgers with barbecue sauce before grilling them in order to keep them moist and add zesty flavor. (Many store-bought brands of barbecue sauce are vegetarian.) Just be sure not to overheat them. Since mock meats are precooked, you need to grill them only for a few minutes.

Try grilling corn on the cob, portobello mushrooms, zucchini, potatoes, onions, pineapples, mangos, bell peppers, eggplant, asparagus, and marinated tofu-vegetable kebabs. Roasting fruits and vegetables over coals caramelizes their natural sugars and brings out their flavor. Cut the vegetables the same size so that they cook evenly, and use a wire-mesh grilling screen so that soft foods won’t fall into the fire.

Smart Dogs, Tofu Pups, Not Dogs, and other vegetarian hot dogs tend to dry out over an open flame, but they are delicious when boiled or fried and served with vegetarian baked beans or topped with chili non carne. Tofurky’s tasty vegan sausages are great when grilled (for just a couple minutes) and topped with roasted peppers and onions or your favorite condiments.

It’s easy to banish beef and other animal-based foods from your barbecue, especially if you’re grilling store-bought mock meats. And no cookout is complete without creamy vegan potato salad, fresh berries, and a big wedge of watermelon. Here are some fun vegan recipes to help you have a blast this Fourth of July:

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Combine the “cream cheese,” sugar, vanilla, lime juice, zest, and cornstarch in a blender and mix until smooth.

Pour the mixture into the graham cracker crust. Place the filled pie shell on a cookie sheet (the pie tends to boil over during cooking). Bake for 45 to 60 minutes, or until the top turns golden brown.

Remove and let set until cool to the touch, then chill in the fridge overnight.